Laban Effort

In rehearsals recently we have been looking and practicing Rudolph Von Laban and his 'Laban Efforts'. The Efforts are a system of describing and applying movement, observing the way in which an actor vocalizes and physicalises their character, thus unlocking the key identity of their character. 'All eight efforts are of equal value and together make up the complete human potential of ways in which we function.' Many theatre practitioners, such as Mike Alfred's, use the Laban technique when discussing a characters internal and external movement. 

The Efforts are made up of six elements according to how the movement is performed. These elements fit into three categories: Weight, Space and Time (speed/tempo). Weight doesn't have anything to do with personal bulkiness, as many ''heavy'' people can move with extreme lightness, it is more about the levels of intensity and gravitational pull when moving. Space concerns how one moves around it and how you relate to it directionally. Here are the elements:

Weight:

• Light- Operating with ease and without effort having no barriers to break through or resistance to overcome. There is a freedom from gravity with all your energy swaying upwards, like a cloud is lifting you up.
• Strong-There is some level of intensity constantly having a barrier to break through or a resistance to overcome, as if one is moving through mud or sand.

Space:

• Direct-A total level of focus and sense of purpose, you know what you want and you impose yourself on the world, initiating what it is you want. You lead with your aim and always know where you are going, in other words you make things happen.
• Flexible-This implies you have no focus or purpose but are completely available and vulnerable, being open to affection. You are moved by impulses, receiving and taking in, absorbing whatever comes your way. You allow things to happen to you. 

Time:

• Sustained-Implies a continuous unbroken movement and energy, flowing from one physical state to the other. Movement tends to be curved and soft, there is nothing abrupt and mobility tends to be slow.
• Broken-A constant renewed amount of angular and abrupt fast energy, the impulses being refreshed second by second. 

The Archetypal Efforts are the three-way pairing of these elements and as I said before, they can be applied to both movement and vocal qualities. The combination of the two can give a character depth and help you understand their physical and emotional sates, as well as their internal one.

Light/Flexible/Sustained=Floating

Light/Flexible/Broken=Flicking

Light/Direct/Sustained=Gliding 

Light/Direct/Broken=Dabbing

Strong/Flexible/Sustained=Wringing 

Strong/Flexible/Broken=Slashing

Strong/Direct/Sustained=Pressing

Strong/Direct/Broken=Thrusting/Punching 

If a character moved around in a Slashing manner, you might think they are angry, tense and harsh, with a thuggish personality. This immediately affects the status of the character and they way others react to them. Making a subtle change of making them move with more of a Thrusting focus, this could instantly uplift their performance and change their characteristics to being more forward and direct with a self confidence. A character can play around with two efforts at once, both internally and externally. For example a character could be Wringing on the inside with perhaps stresses and strains from life but on externally present themselves as Gliding. This shows that they are trying to cover up their troubles, instantly adding another level onto the character. 

We explored all the Efforts through movement which I found really interesting to see how one element can change and alter the overall intensity of the movement. A lot of commitment and self awareness is required when trying out these elements and I noticed when we tried out Dabbing and Thrusting/Punching, not everyone was as committed or as comfortable as we were when we tried Floating and Slashing. I think this was because Floating and Slashing had defiant and direct movements which we often explore in our everyday lives, whereas Dabbing and Thrusting/Punching required a more abstract movement. After we all had tried the Efforts, I felt more comfortable focusing on all of them and discovered that when you layer up different Efforts and apply them physically and emotionally, both external and internal, you have a rounded character with a deep and bold purpose. 

When exploring my character Wendla, I discovered that internally she was Wringing in her vocals and Slashing in her physicality. This contrasted with her external Pressing vocally and her external physicality of Gliding.  Vocally this represents her inquisitive nature and her desperate desire and need for knowledge and to find out new things. She won't stop until she finds out everything that she doesn't understand and Devan and I both agreed that Wendla is quite a stubborn and intelligent character, in other words always wanting to know more. The Wringing symbolizes the oppression she feels from her Mother and she can't understand why she isn't being told about reproduction. Physically this represents her youth and confidence but also how she is quite exposed. Wendla has a lot of self confidence but can snap slightly when things either don't go her way or when she doesn't understand something. After doing Laban I feel as if Wendla is now more rounded and I know how to move around the stage more. 

Script Analysis

As part of clearing up what my character wants in each scene, Devan and I gave each moment a title and a sub-heading, thus enabling us to see openly what our character got out of each scene:

Act One, Scene One
Wendla complaining about the length of her dress: not wanting to lose her childhood dress and therefore not wanting to grow up but has a need for knowledge and a want for maturity. 

Act One, Scene Three
Wendla and her friends meet in the forest and catch up:opening up about their feelings and finding out about Martha's beating and how it is done, sparking Wendla's interest.  

Act One, Scene Five
Wendla meeting Melchior in the Forest, starting a convocation and discovering new experiences: Wendla discovering her desires and testing Melchior, seeing his confusion and the effect Wendla has on him. 

Act Two, Scene Two
Wendla finding out how babies are made due to her becoming an auntie for the third time: finally feeling informed and knowledgeable. 

Act Two, Scene Four
Wendla testing her new found knowledge: feeling confused by her inner emotions and by what she thinks is right. 

Act Two, Scene Six
Wendla sorting out how she feels now: noticing that she has changed and realizing she has done something wrong. 

Act Three, Scene Five
Wendla expressing her feelings and concerns to her mother: trying to find out the truth from her mother and excepting her fate. 

As well as noting the titles of my scenes, I annotated and broke down each moment my character was in. Below are some pictures of some parts of the text which I found hard to find the truth of, so I focused more on them:

 This is my very first scene, and to begin with I was struggling with finding the truth of the language. I started to break down each line into different actions and worked on the scene with Maya, freeing ourselves up physically as both as agreed with Tim it was looking too stiff. Once I had worked out my characters underline objectives of what she was saying, her overall objective for the scene (wanting to mature but hold onto her childhood dress, firstly because it suits her better and secondly because there's a small part of her which doesn't want to throw away a childhood memory) became clearer. 'The dress is too long mother. Why did you make it so long?' is my characters first line and here her objective is to state/to complain/to question. Personally I think this summarizes up Wendla well, she is always questioning things she does not understand and somehow manages to convince people so she gets her way. 

 This is the end of the first scene and again I struggled with the language being presented. Even after I added in the objectives or targets, I was still finding the text tough. After reading through the scene a few times I realised I wasn't pausing at all and was just rushing through the lines, I wasn't allowing the lines to breathe within the scene, So, I broke up the text into pauses and moments and suddenly it sounded better. Tim told me to not let the lines restrict my physicality, so once I moved around and did what my body wanted to do, the lines flowed more naturally. 'Oh no.' is another line I was finding hard as it was so short, but after I found the objective, to protest, it became easy and I found myself saying it automatically. Maya and I developed a stronger mother-daughter relationship as rehearsals went on and I felt this scene getting stronger.


                                                                                                                                                              

This is the first scene I have with characters the same age as mine. All of us were finding it hard to find the truth of this and just 'freeing it up'. I think part of this block we had was because this scene takes place in the forest and as we were in rehearsal rooms we only had chairs to represents the tree and parts of the set. Although this shouldn't have affected our performance, it was difficult to feel free and allow the lines to flow. I particularly found the opening lines tricky 'How the wind sings around your ears'  and 'Let's go to the bridge. They say whole trees and bushes have been swept away by the flood. The boys have built a raft. I heard Melchi Gabor almost drowned last night'. as again I found them un-natural and  stiff. Tim said that the first line is more of a correction in respond the Martha's statement, so my objective became to correct. As for the next few lines, Lizzie, Humera and I all agreed that Wendla was trying to convince Thea and Martha to go to the bridge, as she knows that's where Melchior is going to be and she wants to ask him questions. Throughout this scene I also noted down which part of Wendla's lines were 'silly' and what were 'serious', as she often says a lot of things which are mature or not and this helped me to free up my physicality. 

This last page of this scene is the most crucial, as it is where the beating takes place. My objectives for this scene have always been clear; wanting to discover new experiences, such as being beaten, and knowing that I could get that from Melchior. At first, Josh and I were making the scene too preempting, and making it far too weighted for what it was,  After Tim spoke to us about the lightness and innocence of the scene, we immediately changed the way we said the lines and became our characters. Wendla and Melchior are attracted to each other and unknowingly flirt for the first half of the scene, this changed the dynamic completely and made the sudden change in Melchior at the end even more prominent. The problem with the end page was that Josh and I were pausing between the lines and again making them too heavy which resulted in the scene sounding melodramatic. After we noted our objectives and got the scene more pacey, it became more realistic and the lines didn't sound fake anymore.

I have found the language in this play quite tricky to get a hold of, and I think it maybe due to the fact that the language is classically written but sounds modern, and for a while I found that hard to get my head around. However, after focusing on my objectives and once my I'd learned my lines I found it easier to make the lines sound like I was saying them for the first time. I noticed that Ashleigh and Jackie's vocals throughout the rehearsals and the performance were brilliant and that they made the accent and complicated words sound easy and natural. Even though we didn't study Stanislavsky in depth this year, I still used his methods when getting into my character and relaxing before going on stage.

Acting Technique

During acting technique we studied many theatre practitioners and their methods. These corresponded over to 'Spring Awakening' and our character development which I found extremely useful because I could select which practitioners theory I liked best and then apply that to both Wendla and my other Common ground roles (such as Max in The Grinch). Tim also did more detailed workshops during our Spring Awakening rehearsals , focusing on Chekhov, Alfreds and Donnellan specifically. Here are some of the practitioners we studied during acting technique and how they helped develop my character and widen my theatre knowledge: 

Uta Hagen
Even though we didn't study Hagen in as much depth as the others, I liked her theories of excepting yourself and your character, so I researched her even further and discovered her book 'Respect for Acting'. The more and more I read it uncovered points and exercises which I've found extremely high in utility. Hagen teaches that you should 'aim for a cat's spontaneity; unanticipated involvement in the moment' and find 'your own identity and self knowledge' as they are the main sources for the possible futures characters one could portray. This also helps bring about a genuine life for your character. Another aspect from Hagen's theory is that 'you must adjust to tell the story' which I think is absolutely vital. As performers we have a responsibility to tell the journey of the characters we are portraying and bring to life the world of the play, while making this as clear as possible for our audience, who are experiencing Spring Awakening for the first time. Throughout rehearsals, Josh and I have struggled slightly with the Woodland 'Beating' scene, as neither of us want to hurt the other. Uta Hagen however notices this and states that 'truth in life is not truth on stage; you can't really hurt someone'. This applies to the woodland scene, as both Josh and I needed to realise that we weren't hurting each other and trust the staged push. As soon as I confirmed with Josh that I felt comfortable and secure within the scene, it massively improved. 

Mike Alfred
Over the course of Common Ground we have studied Mike Alfred's 'Different Every Night' extensively and I find his method's extremely useful. Both Tim and Jack did exercises with us from Alfred's book, the main ones being noting what our character says about themselves and what others say about them and then stripping back all the props and concentrating on the world of the play, seeing your character existing in different circumstances. Similar to Hagen, Alfred concentrates on storytelling and the importance of character work. I found his exercises very useful, especially viewing my character outside of the play; it deepened my understanding of Wendla and helped Devan and I find a 'common ground' with each other. Devan and I worked closely with Alfred's techniques and together we cultivated a deeper understanding of the shared character. 

Michael Chekhov
Chekhov focuses on experiencing the truth of the moment and finding the inner event which is an actual experience occurred in real time by the actor. Chekhov calls this the 'Creative Individuality' of the actor, not being tied to his/her personality. This then allows the actor to discover an internal emotion which will then be projected onto the audience. Chekhov's teachings are very similar to Stanislavsky's as both concentrate on imagination, feeling and atmosphere. He believed that inner and outward gestures were different so we did many exercises exploring how our charactrer was feeling verses what they were saying. Imagination is a massive part of Chekhov's teaching, so we did certain exercises focused on this, picturing our characters in moments just before a certain scene started. For example I portrayed Wendla picking Wood-ruff before Melchior came. I found this very useful because it enabled me again to picture my character outside of the words written by Wedekind and take control over what she did. This strengthened my impulsive choices which is also another factor Chekhov focused on.  

Declan Donnellan
Donnellan has similar theories again to Stanislavsky, but calls actions 'targets', being situations and aims that the actor should strive to in each scene. We did a lot of exercises concerning this, realizing what our character wanted and striving through to achieving that. We mainly focused on Blocks which we experience on stage. Donnellan concentrated mainly on the blocks an actor experiences while on stage and during rehearsals, as he believed that if you had these blocks in your mind, you could never fully commit yourself to your character, and therefore you wouldn't be immersed in the play. Donnellan wasn't a trained actor (as the other practitioners are) so noticed that some performers looked stiff and tense onstage. He put this down to mental and physical blocks, such as not knowing where to move on stage or not knowing what you are saying. Once you have overcome these blocks by working through them, then you can immerse yourself in your character. Dennellan also teaches that for each scene, the character has a want/a seeing, a gain and a loss with a suitable title. Jack did some work with us on these and we noted down what our character wanted in each scene. This helped me immensely because previously I had struggled with always knowing what Wendla really wanted, as her society was so suppressed it was hard to grasp what she knew and what she didn't. Concerning the actor and his/her target, Donnellan believed that there was always a target for each scene. Tim also developed this with us later on.

Sanford Meisner 
Not everyone likes Meisner's methods and guaranteed we have only skimmed on half of his methods, but personally I get along with the meisner exercises we have done so far. He teaches emotional recall and sense memory, creating acting from an internal source. In year twelve I did a Meisner workshop and loved the deep connection I felt from the other person. Jack then expanded on this in acting technique, first doing the standard exercises as ourselves (repeating what the other person stated about you) and then as our characters. This helped me get into my character internally which I haven't been able to do before. Doing this exercise with Devan helped us connect with each other on a deeper level and notice the change in our character. 

Having studied these practitioners in depth, I found myself applying their techniques to my other common ground roles. In The Grinch I played Max, the Grinch's dog, so I focused more on Uta Hagen's theory of imagining yourself as the character and then as yourself out of the character and seeing how you would change physically into them. Declan Donnellan helped me realise the blocks I had on stage when it came to Blue Skies, as I found getting out of my head extremely hard. Donnellan teaches that an actor can never be comfortable on stage if they have mental and physical blocks, which is something I defiantly had during the Blue Skies process. After noticing these blocks such as I don't know what I'm doing on stage, I was able to overcome these and live in the moment. Even though we didn't study Stanislavsky in as much detail as we did last year, I still applied his relaxation exercises before I went on stage for each performance throughout Common Ground. As my role in Spring Awakening was more naturalistic than my other roles, I noticed I was using more characteristic exercises for Wendla, (such as improvisations, imagining my character in different circumstances and detailed character questions) and then mainly relaxation and truth exercises for my more physical roles.

Acting Technique Workshop Plan

Acting Technique Workshop Plan

Stanislavsky: relaxation                                                          20 mins

Michael Chekhov: imagination

First Ten Minuets: Relaxation

·         Turned off lights and get the group to lie in semi-supine with their eyes shut
·         Then tense each part of their body, first isolating their feet then relaxing, continue up the body
·         Then the breathing exercise: get the group to breathe in through their nose for four and then out through their mouths for eight, then twelve and then sixteen, while lying on their backs in semi-supine
·         Shake off their body so their muscles were relaxed and open
·         Stanislavsky believed that being tense on stage affected the actors performance, and part of this reason was being too tight and not in the moment. We will then do a concentration exercise which the group could use before they go on stage to focus themselves: the finger and thumb exercise. This is where you alternate your thumb and little finger on each hand, so for example, you would have your right thumb out and your left little finger out and then switch. This focuses you and gets you out of your head
·         Plosive sounds exercise to warm up your lips and tongue ‘the tip of the tongue, the teeth and the lips’. This exercise warms up the lips and helps with articulation and breathe control.  

He taught that an actor’s voice could only be free if they were completely warmed up and had relaxed vocal chords. If not your voice can become wooden and strained, with no emotion. Stanislavsky believed an actor should be relaxed during rehearsals and before performing because it frees your imagination and enables you to except and embody your character with more ease.

Last Ten Minuets: Imagination

·         Circle of Concentration exercise. This helps open your objectives into a physical action and focus your attention to detail within a scene. Spilt the group into half, one half are the observers, the others the performers. The observers chose one performer to focus their attention on while the performers all stand at a ‘’bus stop’’ as themselves. We then add in one circle of attention:  a piece of gum. The performers have to think about the flavour and chewiness of the gum. Next we will ask them to add in another circle of attention: a backpack. Again they have to decide the weight of the bag, the style and position of the bag. They shouldn’t be focusing too much on either one of these circles. The observers then have to notice how their physicality changes and see which one they focus on more. Feedback time. Ask the observers who they were focusing on and which circle they thought the performer was paying more attention to. For example, if they were focusing more on the gum, hat would be their small circle of concentration and the backpack would be the large circle. Translate this over to Stanislavsky terms, the small circle is your objective for the scene and the large circle is your objective for the play.
·         The Fear exercise. This will be the last exercise before feedback from the workshop. Get the group to lie down and close their eyes imagining something they dislike or are afraid of for example a spider. Get them to think about how it makes them feel and think specifically about what it is which they don’t like. They then have to think how to describe this thing to the rest of the group without naming the main features and what it is, for example if it were a spider, they couldn’t say spins a web. This opens up the imagination and gets you thinking about the hidden details in more depth, deeply expressing how you feel about something and how an emotion affects you. Get a few people to say theirs and the others guess.

End of Workshop. 

Character Research

I thought it would be wise to do some research into my character before we started rehearsing too deeply. Luckily there is a lot on Wendla, due to the musical being a West End hit, and her being such an interesting and ambiguous character. By many she is viewed as being innocent, curious and vulnerable, being ignorant of the truth, but by others she comes across as a strong willed, flirtatious and intelligent young teen who gets caught up with the longing to know and experience unknown situations. This is something Devan and I have to explore together as the rehearsal process continues, as we need to agree on certain main characteristic choices for our portrayal of Wendla.

I looked to two sources of media for information about my character: the internet and films/ the musical. Google describes Wendla as being 'sweet and very innocent, but she has a streak of defiance and some dark undertones to her personality, underneath all that sweetness. She's fascinated with death, specifically her own, and her desire to experience real, intense emotions and sensations sometimes drive her to take drastic measures [like the beating scene]. She's very intelligent and compassionate, she's extremely curious about the world around her, but most of all, she's just a teenager discovering herself' This very detailed description, in my opinion, summarises up Wendla pretty well, she wants to discover new things but is unsure how to approach them in the society she is living in. After reading a fact sheet about my character I think I have a better understanding of how to build the grounds of this character, and I have discovered that after a few rehearsals I have been able interpret Wendla in my own way. The internet also says that Wendla is 'young and giggly' I think this is a common perception of Wendla and I would like to play this innocence and possible naivety as the affect of her growing up under such an oppressed society. I would like to experiment with the comedic potential I think this character holds too. I also noticed that the character descriptions of Wendla differentiated between the musical and the play. The Wendla in the musical seems to be in love with Melchoir and wants a future with him. She is more romantic and fragile in a sense. The Wendla in the play is described as being more intellectual and ignorant in some ways. I found this very interesting and thought I would incorporate the two different perceptions while adding my own take on Wendla. 

I then watched some different interpretations by actresses who have played Wendla in the musical over the years (I couldn't find any footage of the play being performed) as I thought this would give me a better understanding of the character in new levels. I watched a few acitng scenes when Lea Michele played Wendla and then when Charlotte Wakefield portrayed her. I noticed that Michele really played up to Wendla's youth whereas Wakefield focused more on her curiosity and determination. I enjoyed both portrays but found Michele's choices were stronger and I preferred how she acted around Melchoir; keeping up with his wittiness and not letting him always take the lead. I researched the cast for the Headlong production of Wedekind's 'Spring Awakening' and found out that Aoife Duffin would be playing Wendla. I couldn't find any reviews or clips of her portrayal of Wendla, but I remember Tim telling us that he went to see the production, which he enjoyed but didn't like the modernisation of the play. I agree with this as the play is so classic I think it requires the old fashioned costumes. 

This research has helped me to gain a basic understanding of how I could play this character and has made me excited to work with Devan to create a new Wendla which we can put our own personal touches on as rehearsals develop. 

Similarities and Differences

When working on a character it's important to note the differences between yourself and them, but also the similarities so as to differentiate similar traits or contrasting actions. Having similarities help you to relate to your character, and in the case of Wendla and I, it will help both Devan and me to find certain characteristics we can both echo to keep informing the audience that we are the same character.

List of Differences:

1. She is 3 years younger than me
2. She has dark hair and brown eyes
3. Thinner than me
4. Unsure about how reproduction work
5. Only has one sister
6. Her father died when she was young
7. Immature but wants to be mature, but approaches it in a younger way (whereas I am mature but in an immature way)
8. Wants to know everything she can about people and life
9. Her favorite subject is Latin
10. She doesn't like to dance
11. We approach problems differently 

List of Similarities:

1. Same height 
2. Uncertain about the future
3. Trying to grow up (although we approach this differently)
4. Curious about the world we each live in 
5. Naive
6. Both have a close relationship with our Mothers and sister(s)
7. Both enjoy school
8.  Both enjoy music 
9. Mischievous
10. Both relish life
11. Enjoy the company of other people  

I noticed the similarities between Wendla and I are mainly hobby related or a personality trait. I think this will make it easier when trying out new decisions with my character as I will be able to slightly relate to them. 

Wendla's Playlist

Tim wants music to be a prominent theme in our performance, so he asked us to create a playlist specifically to our character. The music could be what they listened to, what inspired them or what reminded us of our character. Here is my playlist for Wendla:

1. Wander, Wondering (Slow Club) bonus track

I chose this song because the lyrics really suit the hay loft scene and summarize how Wendla feels throughout her encounters with Melchior. The last line of this song is 'so tired all this longing for his touch, all I need is his love.' which links in with the knowledge Wendla has of how reproduction works (her mother telling her you have to love one another) but also her desire to fulfill these feelings she has towards Melchior. I think this song has potential to be played during our performance perhaps, because it's slow but the lyrics are meaningful and relative. 

2.Kiss (Prince)

Again this song highlights Wendla's desires and I imagine her playing this song on a Friday night alone in her room and when walking through the forest. The upbeat quality to this song links in with her outgoing and youthful personality and I think she enjoys the 'frisky' nature of this song as it makes her feel free from her everyday life. Wendla is questioning what her mother has told her and I imagine her mother would've asked Wendla not to listen to this song, so naturally this is the top played song on Wendla's playlist. 

3. Inspector Thompson (James Shearman and Orchestra) Gosford Park Soundtrack

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNRFt5wMfpw)

I recently watched this film because I thought it related slightly to our play, being that the servants are restricted to certain things but they do them secretly anyway. This song is popular of that time period (1930's) and I imagine Wendla's mother allowing her to listen to classical music. There is a very sensual and jazzy quality to this song which I think would be on her playlist. I see Wendla playing this song in the evening. The saxophone and piano solo somehow reminded me of Wendla's personality, a bit playful and hazy but always alert. 

4. Superstition (Stevie Wonder)

I chose this song because I think it summarizes up Wendla's personality well. Throughout the play her objective is to find out the truth and to experience the truth once she knows it. Before the play as well I imagine Wendla slowly realizing that what her mother and teachers are telling her probably isn't true. My character has a very inquisitive mind which doesn't stimulate well under restraint, so naturally she questions everything. The up beat tempo of this piece, I believe, symbolizes Wendla's desperate need to find out how babies are made and to grow up faster than perhaps her mother and herself is ready to. 

5.My Body Is A Cage (Arcade Fire)
The title of this song in itself represents how my character feels, especially in the forest scene with Melchior, when she doesn't understand how her body works. I see Wendla listening to this when she feels confused or frustrated, or at school feeling trapped. I can see this piece of music being in our performance as well, the tempo's up beat and the lyrics fit with the play's message. I learned through this song that my character often expresses how she feels in ways which others see as being bold but she sees as being ordinary. 

6. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now (The Smiths)
I feel as if Wendla is a Smith's fan because their lyrics relatable to her and she enjoys the male voice. I see Wendla playing this after her mother has told her how babies are made, but she still feels as if something is missing. I think when she listens to this song she doesn't focus on the overall message but enjoys the song as a tune she can turn on when feeling down and feel as if someone else is going through the same misery as her. From this I've discovered that Wendla has a tendency to be quite selfish and only think about how situations would effect her, An example of this is when Martha tell Thea and Wendla that she gets beaten from her parents, and instead of comforting Martha she feels left out and only offers to take Martha's place so she can experience being beaten, something which is new to her. 

7. The Paris Match (The Style Council ft. Tracey Thorn)
This is another jazzy, old time feeling song which Wendla enjoys relaxing too.  Again this song is about relationships, with another person and oneself. This song contrasts to some of the other tracks on Wendla's playlist but she enjoys listening to it. I felt the rhythm and lyrics fitted with her personalty and when listening to it imagined her self in Paris, fantasizing about a romance, similar to one she has read in a book.     

8.Imaginary Love (Rufus Wainwright) 
The title of this song reminded me of the hay loft scene and how desperate Wendla is to allow Melchior to touch her but was fearful because they didn't love one another. I think this song represents a part of Wendla which is really prominent: her imagination. She often fantasizes about being in other people's positions or being some place else and I think this is a result of her suppressed knowledge and perhaps her creativeness. This song highlights her mind trying to imagine things which aren't there. Even after her mother tells her how reproduction works, I believe there is a part of her which knows it isn't the full truth, but she desperately wants to believe and imagine it is. 

9. Sideways (Santana ft. Citizen Cope)
Again this song represents how Wendla feels. A reoccurring lyric in this song is 'these feelings won't go away' which I think links to Wendla's feelings towards Melchior and growing up. This song also corresponds with other characters feelings and relationships. For example Morietz, Hans and Earnest possibly don't want the 'stirrings of manhood' but they have them because they are natural, similarly to Wendla, I get the feeling that she hates this bugging question which always looms over her, she she can't shake it because the feeling is always there. I chose this song because I felt the lyrics were the most relatable to each character and therefore everyone would have a link and a connection. 

10. Life On Mars? (David Bowie)  
I think this song by Bowie summarizes nicely Wendla's curiosity of wanting to know the impossible. Even though I am still in the first stages of finding my character completely, this was one of the first songs I chose to be on her playlist because I immediately saw how curious and bright Wendla is and her need to find out the truth and allow that to help her mature. This song still has a youthful and playful quality to it which she enjoys listening to but also helps inform me of her personality

I really love the idea of incorporating music into our piece, as it provokes emotions and links in with the setting we are placing this version of 'Spring Awakening' in. These young characters are being suppressed from modern day luxuries, and having a personal playlist not only helps me with my character development, but enables the scenes to flow and symbolize these young teens rebelling. I found the playlist useful because it breaks down my characters personality and her feelings: she has a curious and desperate side with a flirtatious and youthful quality. I can associate each song with a certain scene which helps me to get into the mind frame of the situation and also possibly have the song being played in my earphones. I've learned through the songs that my character seems to be bolder and more playful than I expected at first.